Civil-Remarks-FINAL

Making Our Lives Safer:
How UMD Civil Engineers Are Working
to Improve U.S. Infrastructure
www.cee.umd.edu
CIVIL REMARKSTHE DEPARTMENTof CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
A. JAMES CLARK SCHOOL of ENGINEERING
2015 VOL. 14
5 “It Only Takes
One Storm”
8 An Inside Look at
Forensic Engineering
19 ASCE Maryland 21 CEE Lab Renovations

2 Safer Travels
5 “It Only Takes One Storm”
8 Forensic Engineering
11 The Real Costs of Congestion
13 Graduate Student News
15 Undergraduate Student News
16 Faculty News
18 Alumni News
19 ASCE Maryland
21 Infrastructure Lab Renovations
Contents
2 0 1 5
on the cover
CEE researchers are working to develop a smart
bridge condition monitoring system with remote
sensing capabilities suited for fatigue condition
assessment of highway steel bridges.
on the web at civil.umd.edu
Making Our Lives Safer:
How UMD Civil Engineers Are Working
to Improve U.S. Infrastructure
www.cee.umd.edu
CIVIL REMARKSTHE DEPARTMENTof CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
A. JAMES CLARK SCHOOL of ENGINEERING
2015 VOL. 14
5 “It Only Takes
One Storm”
8 An Inside Look at
Forensic Engineering
19 ASCE Maryland 21 CEE Lab Renovations
civil remarks is a newsletter
published for alumni and
friends of the Department
of civil and environmental
Engineering at the A. James
Clark School of Engineering,
University of Maryland.
Your alumni news and comments
are welcome. Please contact us at:
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering
1173 Glenn L. Martin Hall, Bldg #088
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-7768
ceenewsletter@umd.edu
Follow us on Twitter:
@UMDCivil
Department Chair: Dr. Charles W. Schwartz
Editor: Alyssa Wolice
Graphic Designer: Jason Quick
department news,
research updates,
alumni info, more
The University of Maryland Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering
(CEE) celebrated many accomplishments
over the past year.
In early 2015, the department
launched a major Infrastructure
Engineering Laboratories renovation
initiative. This multi-million dollar effort
will modernize our physical and virtual
infrastructure engineering laboratories
and expand their capacity to accom-
modate our doubling of undergraduate
enrollments over the past decade. These enhanced laboratories will
expose all CEE students to state-of-the-art material testing tech-
niques, infrastructure health monitoring, construction monitoring,
and countless other hands-on aspects of civil engineering. As we
look forward to this highly anticipated renovation, the department
extends its gratitude to The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
for its $1.5 million commitment to our initiative.
In the spring of 2015, the department welcomed two new faculty
members: Assistant Professor and Pedro E. Wasmer Professor in
Engineering Birthe Kjellerup and Lecturer Natasha Andrade, a CEE
alum. We also applauded our American Society of Civil Engineers’
(UMD ASCE) Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge teams as both
earned trips to their respective 2015 national competitions. UMD
ASCE also hosted its first-ever “Suit Up & Be Civil” networking event
and reception, which brought together more than 150 civil engineer-
ing professionals, students, alumni, and faculty under one roof.
Every day, we are proud to see examples of how members of
our CEE community are developing solutions to society’s most
pressing engineering challenges.
In the past year, CEE researchers contributed insights to both
local and national discussions on factors impacting today’s infra-
structure – an area in which the U.S. invests approximately $20 tril-
lion each year.
Our own Chung Fu, Director of the University of Maryland’s
Bridge Engineering Software and Technology (BEST) Center, led
a research team focused on enhancing the sustainability of U.S.
infrastructure by reducing the life cycle costs of our bridges. His
team partnered with North Carolina State University and AECOM
to develop a smart bridge condition monitoring system capable of
remote health monitoring of large complex highway structures.
Our National Transportation Center at Maryland (NTC@
Maryland) continues to raise awareness about how traffic conges-
tion contributes to both economic challenges and undue wear
and tear of our nation’s roadways. Research from NTC@Maryland
has shed light on how active traffic and demand management
can help mitigate congestion, even in our country’s most densely
populated areas. Similarly, our Center for Advanced Transportation
Technology (CATT) Laboratory is working to translate data collect-
ed from roadside sensors, GPS equipment, and other sources into
visualizations used to help first responders understand the proper
modes of response to traffic incidents.
On the environmental front, CEE Assistant Professor Barton
Forman and Ph.D. student Yuan Xue are working to develop
techniques to better quantify the mass of water in large snow-
packs across North America and other regions around the world.
Recognizing that snowpacks are a primary source of drinking
water for more than 1 billion people worldwide, Forman and Xue’s
research offers key insights on how snow must be preserved and
managed as a viable freshwater resource.
Our Center for Disaster Resilience researchers helped spark a
campaign to develop a national resilience assessment for analyzing
the health and vulnerability of our nation to natural and manmade
disasters. The center’s objective is to provide a numerical basis for
measuring the ability of communities and infrastructure to with-
stand or recover from hazards.
Such initiatives are just a few examples of how our CEE
researchers are shaping U.S. and global infrastructure develop-
ment, sustainability and efficiency efforts, environmental policies,
and resilience assessment. These efforts impact countless lives
in our communities and will continue to make the world a better
place for generations to come.
Charles W. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Chair’s Message
Charles W. Schwartz

A. James Clark School of Engineering  Glenn L. Martin Institute of Technology
2
In 2009, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge made national headlines when fatigue
cracking caused damage to the very same
eye-bars that had received emergency repairs
a month prior. The damage sent pieces of
steel falling onto the roadway during peak-
hour traffic.
The incident – and countless others
involving bridges across the country in
recent years – happened without any warn-
ing and jeopardized the safety of drivers,
including many who were simply following
their normal day-to-day commute.
Structural engineers throughout the
country are nevertheless faced with a hard
truth: fatigue-induced cracking is an all-too-
common failure mode in many steel bridges
reaching their original design life. After all,
many of today’s aging bridge structures
have endured increasing traffic volume and
weight, which contribute to deterioration of
bridge components.
The U.S. invests approximately $20 tril-
lion in infrastructure, yet the magnitude
of the societal challenges associated with
aging facilities – particularly, bridges – is
daunting. Despite years of research in over-
coming common infrastructure challenges,
failures still occur. Funding challenges and
increased freight transport make it difficult
for local agencies to keep up with mainte-
nance demands. Even factors such as climate
change – and resulting extreme weather
events – can place added burden on road-
ways and bridges.
Recognizing this, a joint team of University
of Maryland (UMD) and North Carolina
State University (NCSU) researchers part-
nered with the URS Corporation – now
AECOM – to develop a smart bridge con-
dition monitoring system known as the
Integrated Structural Health Monitoring
(ISHM) system. The ISHM system features a
number of technology innovations including
remote sensing capability particularly suited
for fatigue condition assessment of highway
steel bridges. The project researchers also hope
to extend this technology for use in evaluating
other types of bridge damage, such as breaks
and corrosion of steel strands of pre-stressed
concrete bridges.
Led by Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering (CEE) Research
Professor and Director of the Bridge
Engineering Software and Technology (BEST)
Center Chung C. Fu, along with CEE
Professor Yunfeng Zhang, the research team
developed the ISHM system based on wire-
less sensor networks with self-sustained power
supplies, which make the system scalable for
remote monitoring of large complex highway
infrastructure. In addition to Fu and Zhang,
NCSU Department of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering Professor Fuh-Gwo
Yuan, and Y.E. Zhou of the URS Corporation
are co-principal investigators on the project.
Backed by funding from the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Research and
Technology, the research team worked to
integrate recent advancements in civil, aero-
space, and electrical disciplines to produce
Safer Travels:
How Civil Engineers are Working to Improve U.S. Bridges, Roadways
Continued on next page.
2
Photo Credit: “Williamsburg Bridge” by Thomas Hawk is licensed under Creative Commons BY 2.0. http://go.umd.edu/williamsburgbridge

CIVIL REMARKS  2015
3
covErSTORY
a transformational system that quantifies
damage and degradation at an early stage,
thereby reducing operating and maintenance
costs in the long run.
After an ISHM system is installed on a
structure, researchers can use its sensor data
to update the deterioration models for future
condition forecasting, Fu said.
“Condition rating data based on periodic
inspection of bridge components to provide
an overall characterization of the general con-
dition of a bridge has been routinely used by
inspection engineers,” he said. “Combining
visual inspection and ISHM system data, fail-
ure conditions can be detected earlier, even in
some hard-to-detect areas, and catastrophic
bridge failures can be prevented.”
The research team’s overarching mission
is a crucial one: enhance the sustainability of
U.S. civil infrastructures by reducing the life
cycle costs of bridges.
In the state of Maryland alone, 317
bridges are considered structurally deficient,
according to a recent U.S. Department of
Transportation National Bridge Inventory
database report. While this number may be
jarring to the countless drivers who com-
mute through the Free State each day, it
represents just under 6 percent of Maryland
bridges and pales in comparison to states like
Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, where more
than 20 percent of bridges are considered
structurally deficient.
But, it is important to note that structural
deficiency does not automatically deem a
bridge unfit for travel, Fu noted.
“Structural deficiencies are determined by
poor condition ratings or from low load rat-
ings,” he said. “Bridges are considered struc-
turally deficient if significant load-carrying
elements are found to be in poor or worse
condition due to deterioration or damage.”
As common practice to keep structur-
ally deficient bridges in service, the State
Highway Administration often posts weight
limits to restrict the gross weight of vehicles
using the bridges to less than the maximum
weight typically allowed by statute, Fu said.
Still, all structurally deficient bridges even-
tually require rehabilitation or replacement.
“With hands-on inspection and field test-
ing, unsafe conditions may be identified and,
if a bridge is determined to be unsafe, the
structure must be closed,” Fu said.
That is where Fu’s research team can
make a world of difference. The ISHM
system incorporates recent innovations that
could transform remote sensing and man-
agement of highway infrastructures in two
ways. First, ISHM uses wideband acoustic
emission (AE) signals to evaluate localized
damage, even in areas where traditional sen-
sors cannot be placed due to geometry and
structural constraints. Second, ISHM incor-
porates smart wireless sensor networks that
can self-power using wind or solar power,
self-calibrate, and automatically scan and
diagnose problem sites.
This enables early detection of structural
damage, which is critical given that, in states
such as Maryland, most structurally compro-
mised bridges are on the Interstate Highway
System – and among the most heavily
traveled bridges in the state, according to
American Road and Transportation Builders
Association (ARTBA) analysis of the DOT
bridge report. The ARTBA analysis under-
scores the challenges many states face with
federal highway and transit funding.
Are Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
Posing Challenges for Bridge,
Roadway Maintenance?
Adding another layer to the problem of
bridge and roadway maintenance is the cur-
rent rate of the federal gas tax – a major
funding mechanism for the Highway Trust
Fund, which holds the purse strings for
highway and bridge maintenance. For more
than two decades, the federal gas tax rate has
held steady, even as environmentally driven
Continued from page 2.
Download a copy of the
National Transportation Center
at Maryland’s Annual Report.
http://go.umd.edu/ntc2014

4
consumers are opting for eco-friendly cars
or other modes of transportation, and are
thereby purchasing less and less gas.
“One of the challenges to the fund-
ing issue is the fact that modern cars are
more fuel-efficient than older cars,” said
Mark Franz, Assistant Director of Outreach
and Technology Transfer for the National
Transportation Center at the University of
Maryland. “From an environmental perspec-
tive, fuel-efficient cars are obviously a great
thing. But, if people are not buying as much
gas nowadays, they might not be contribut-
ing their share of the cost toward the system
they’re using. If more and more drivers
are going home and plugging in their cars
overnight, those drivers are essentially using
roads without contributing direct funding
for those roads.”
But, while everyday consumers may pur-
chase less fuel than in years past, consumer
behavior remains a factor behind the dete-
rioration of some of the nation’s most heavily
traveled roadways and bridges.
As Americans continue to take on lengthy
commutes to work, the burden on high-
ways, bridges and even local roads increases.
Additionally, while the popularity of online
shopping has reduced the need for consum-
ers to drive to and from local stores, it has, in
turn, increased demand for the transport of
goods by freight vehicles. And, according to
a recent DOT report titled, “Beyond Traffic
2045: Trends and Choices,” in 2012, trucks
moved 13.2 billion tons of freight throughout
the U.S. – compared to second-place rail
transport, which accounted for just 2 billion
tons of freight the same year.
“When you think about what is contrib-
uting most to wear and tear on the roads,
freight vehicles prove costly,” Franz said.
“The irony is, in many ways, the Highway
Trust Fund counts on everyday travelers to
use those same roadways so that more dol-
lars will funnel in via the state and federal
gas taxes to help fund both road and bridge
maintenance.”
Incidents like the February case of fallen
concrete from the I-495 Suitland Bridge in
Prince George’s County, Md., have directed
a spotlight onto highway maintenance issues,
and many directly impacted by the bridges
or roadways in question hope that such inci-
dents will drive government to direct more
funding to support road and bridge mainte-
nance and repair projects.
Highway and bridge construction funds
are a mix of state and federal dollars, Fu
noted. At the federal level, the Highway Trust
Fund is the main source of support; however,
there has not been an increase in the tax on
gasoline since 1994.
In fact, the federal Highway Trust Fund
ran dry in 2008 and again in 2015 and had
to be subsidized by Congress, Fu said.
“The difference between the funds avail-
able and the system’s needs represents the
funding gap,” Fu said. “The only other
source available is the state funding. Lack
of state resources to fill any gap in federal
funding is a cause for concern because it
would cripple road and bridge construction
in Maryland.
“Bridges are aging year by year,” he con-
tinued. “The average age of Maryland state
bridges is about 50 years. As bridges age,
their abilities to handle the loads they are
designed for are gradually reduced. As a
result, some bridges have to be posted with
weight restrictions and then more bridges
are put into the deficient bridge category.
With an aging infrastructure system, short-
age of funding will only increase needs in
the future.”
covErSTORY
Read the U.S. Department of
Transportation “Beyond Traffic
2045” report.
http://go.umd.edu/beyondtraffic

5
Recent hurricane forecasts over the past few years have pro-
jected fewer named storms than the historical average. However,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
researchers within the University of Maryland Center for Disaster
Resilience (CDR) warn that any storm could expose infrastructure
vulnerabilities and emergency response challenges.
“It should matter little to communities what the number of
named or major hurricanes expected for a given season might be,”
said Dr. Gerry Galloway, CDR Associate and CEE Glenn L. Martin
Institute Professor of Engineering. “It only takes one storm to expose
a community’s or region’s vulnerabilities. Even more, some of the
nation’s costliest hurricanes – including Hurricane Sandy – were
Category 2 or lower when they made landfall in the U.S.”
In fact, a direct hit by a storm of Sandy’s caliber could spell calam-
ity even for the Washington metropolitan area, CDR researchers warn.
“Many people in the D.C. area do not realize that they’re actu-
ally in a tidal zone and that they are subject to coastal inundation,”
said Dr. Sandra Knight, CDR Director, CEE Research Professor
and FEMA’s former Deputy Associate Administrator for Mitigation.
“Often, they feel like they are far away from the beach so they
are not at risk, but D.C. is certainly impacted by tides and coastal
storms. The first step toward building resilience is raising awareness
to the fact that this is a coastal region, subject to many of the same
risks shoreline communities face.”
Even with the recent completion of Washington’s 17th Street flood
levee – designed to reduce risk to human safety and critical infra-
structure downtown from Potomac River flooding – floods pose a
major concern throughout the capital area.
“The largest flood ever recorded in Washington, D.C., reached 7.9
feet [relative to sea level] in the early 1930s,” Knight said. “But, unprec-
edented storm surge could threaten billions of dollars’ worth of proper-
ty, including critical infrastructure, national icons, and national security
interests. When you factor in the impact of climate change and rising
sea levels, you realize that a direct hit from even a Category 2 hurri-
cane could carry a significant amount of risk in the nation’s capital.”
Knight and Galloway noted that, while the 17th Street levee
“It Only Takes One Storm” Caution UMD
Despite Below-Average Hurricane Forecast,
Questions of Community Resilience Remain
PHOTOCREDIT:DouglasGritzmacher
CDR Associate and Glenn L. Martin
Institute Professor of Engineering Gerry
Galloway pictured at the D.C. flood
wall. Galloway said the levee and the
wall on the National Mall are essential
to protecting southwest D.C. from a
major river flood, but they do not pro-
vide sufficient protection to prevent
downtown flooding from a significant
combined hurricane and river event,
especially as sea levels continue to rise.

6
serves to protect downtown Washington in the event a 100-year
storm should hit the Potomac region, interior flooding – such as that
resulting from heavy rainfall – is still a major concern. Even more, a
significant weather event in the nation’s capital could have a spillover
impact on other areas across the East Coast.
“Washington presents a unique scenario,” Knight said. “In addi-
tion to concerns over human safety and property, residents, emer-
gency responders, and policymakers must also consider how a major
weather event in the capital region could impact government opera-
tions, national security, transportation systems, and the economy. For
instance, a direct hit from a major hurricane could put military bases
and Department of Defense facilities at risk. A major weather event
in D.C. could also impact travel and the transport of goods and
force a government shutdown that could cause a ripple effect on the
national economy.”
Still, it is important to remember that Washington, D.C., is not
the only area in the national capital region that experiences flooding,
Knight and Galloway noted.
“As sea levels continue to rise, unprecedented flooding could
threaten more than $40 billion worth of property in Maryland,
Virginia, and Delaware,” Galloway said.
With this in mind, CDR researchers are setting out to educate
both the general public and policymakers about the actions that need
to be taken to ensure communities are resilient – even if a “worst-
case scenario” weather event hit.
“Until the right measures and structural safeguards are in place,
the odds a hurricane or summer storm could make a historical
impact on the D.C. area – or another riverine or coastal community
– will continue to rise,” Galloway said.
Working Toward a National Resilience Scorecard
In spring 2015, CDR led a Department of Homeland Security
Science and Technology (DHS S&T)-sponsored workshop aimed
to identify and characterize the steps needed to develop a national
resilience assessment for analyzing the health and vulnerability of the
nation to natural and manmade disasters.
The “Building Blocks for a National Resilience Scorecard” work-
shop brought together more than 40 resilience experts across gov-
ernment, industry, and academe, including DHS S&T, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST), Maryland
state government, and District of Columbia government.
Co-led by CDR Director Sandra Knight and CDR Associate Ed
Link, with senior support from Gerry Galloway, workshop partici-
pants outlined best practices, user perspectives and examples of key
resilience tools, and broke into discussion groups to identify desired
outcomes for a resilience scorecard.
“The very fact that we are all gathered here is, in and of itself, an
outcome of the hours and resources devoted toward generating dis-
cussions about resilience and what it means,” said CEE Department
Chair and Professor Charles Schwartz during his opening address.
“We are helping to draw big-picture solutions and open lines of com-
munication that transcend bureaucratic barriers in order to provide
decision-makers the information they need to plan for and respond
to emergencies.”
Disaster Resilience Experts
CDR Associate and
CEE Senior Research
Engineer Ed Link leads
a group discussion on
best practices for mea-
suring resilience during
the “Building Blocks for
a National Resilience
Scorecard” workshop.
PHOTO CREDIT: International Space Station
Read the Center for Disaster
Resilience’s “Building Blocks
for a National Resilience
Assessment” online.
http://go.umd.edu/buildingblocks

7
A national resilience scorecard would provide communities with a
foundation through which to assess resilience and monitor progress
over time. While scorecards have long been used at national and
local levels, there are currently no national, quantitative standards for
measuring the ability of communities and infrastructure to withstand
or recover from hazards.
“Without some numerical basis for assessing resilience, it will be
impossible to monitor change or show that community resilience is
improved,” Galloway said.
“Resilience exists at the intersection of social systems, natural
systems and the built environment,” said Susan Cutter, University
of South Carolina Professor and Director of the Hazards and
Vulnerability Research Institute. “Why should communities measure
resilience? To understand the potential impacts of adverse events and
to evaluate the capacity of a community to respond to, recover from,
and adapt to such events.”
The workshop kicked off with a panel session focused on
national assessments and best practices and featured insights from
Bill Dennison, University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science Vice President for Science Applications, Jennifer Rivers, Vice
President, Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, Emily Feenstra,
Director, Infrastructure Initiatives at the American Society of Civil
Engineers, and Bill Lesser, National Flood Insurance Program
Community Rating System Coordinator, FEMA.
“Part of the journey you need to take in developing report cards is
to engage the right people in the process,” Dennison said, noting that
report cards create a unique opportunity for public dialogue.
“A resilience scorecard could also generate excitement and further
general public knowledge about why much of our infrastructure
needs to be replaced,” Feenstra added. “It is not about rebuilding
infrastructure as it once was; rather, it is about building sustainable
solutions with the future in mind.”
Recognizing that no community could ever achieve 100 percent
resilience, workshop participants drove home the idea that a score-
card would serve as the framework for discussions about resilience
and provide communities with a means through which to compare
and contrast different communities’ levels of resiliency.
“Organizations have only survived and done well because they are
resilient,” Galloway said. “They have been able to adapt to changing
situations, and they have been able to get better. Any book written by
a CEO or leader of an organization discusses how to improve with
time and how to plan for the unknown – and that is similar to the
message we are trying to convey through discussions about resilience.”
“The level of expertise that has been applied to conversations
about resilience, and the level of enthusiasm we have seen under-
scores how important this topic really is,” Link added.
Workshops like those hosted by CDR help to further convey the
impact of resilience similar to the way in which the words “risk” and
“sustainability” resonate with people today.
“CDR consists of a network of some very experienced senior
experts who have been involved in resilience, risk, policy, and engi-
neering for a very long time,” Knight noted. “We’re excited to start
seeing some of the efforts of research units coming our way. We
have some big ideas about our center and the areas we might cover
in the months and years to come. In terms of education, topics like
resilience and sustainability carry a value that softens the engineer-
ing perspective, allowing researchers to look at the world through
different lenses.”
CDR Director Sandra Knight with ABC Washington’s
Sam Sweeney and Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel
Director Jewel Barlow.
National Media Highlights CDR Hurricane Research
The Center for Disaster Resilience teamed up
with University of Maryland Department of
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOSC)
experts to accompany national and local
media to the A. James Clark School of
Engineering’s Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel
to explain why “it only takes one storm” to
expose a region’s infrastructure vulnerabilities
and emergency response challenges.
Joined by the TODAY Show’s Dylan Dreyer,
as well as reporters from USA TODAY and
D.C. metropolitan area broadcast outlets,
UMD researchers set out to demonstrate how
hurricane-force winds – as well as flooding
and storm surge – could spell trouble for
coastal and riverine communities, and even
the nation’s capital.
With the help of Glenn L. Martin Wind
Tunnel Director and Department of
Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor
Jewel Barlow and his researchers, Dreyer
and others experienced up to 115 MPH wind
speeds, demonstrating for viewing audiences
just how powerful a Category 2 storm can be.
Wearing a harness strapped into bolts in
the tunnel floor, one at a time, each of the
reporters experienced how even sustained
tropical storm force winds would make it very
difficult for a person to stand, walk or even
speak. As Barlow and his team slowly raised
the wind speeds, each of the daring media
personnel illustrated why a storm not clas-
sified as a “major hurricane” can still pack a
serious punch—one that would cause signifi-
cant damage and risks to human life.
View videos and media coverage of the Center
for Disaster Resilience’s trip to the Wind
Tunnel. http://go.umd.edu/hurricanecoverage

8
Time and again, Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering adjunct professor
and alumnus Kenneth O’Connell (B.S. ’81, M.S.
’82, Ph.D. ’91) echoes a mantra made famous
by Bill Gates: “It’s fine to celebrate success
but it is more important to heed the lessons
of failure.”
As president of O’Connell & Lawrence, Inc.,
a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting
firm based in Olney, Md., O’Connell has seen
firsthand how engineers serve a critical role in
uncovering the hows and whys behind proj-
ect failures to equip project managers with
lessons learned moving forward.
Many such men and women work in the
realm of forensic engineering – the “applica-
tion of engineering principles to the investi-
gation of failures or other performance prob-
lems,” according to the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE).
To those unfamiliar with the field, the word
“forensic” may call to mind scenes from pop-
ular crime investigation television shows; but,
according to O’Connell, a forensic engineer’s
role can be most accurately condensed into
one word: “expert.”
“What best prepares [an engineer] for
forensic engineering is a lot of experience,”
O’Connell said, noting that acquiring a degree
is only the first step. “What a person needs
to do is go out and practice engineering
and develop his or her craft for 10 or 12 or
15 years to acquire the expertise needed to
become a forensic engineer.”
This holds true largely because forensic
engineers take on varied challenges and roles
ranging from investigative work to involve-
ment in court proceedings, O’Connell said.
“Sometimes, we get involved with a proj-
ect while it is still in progress and we have
an opportunity to identify and correct prob-
lems that have surfaced,” he said. “And then,
sometimes, we are brought into projects long
after they are done – even years after – and
asked to identify what went wrong. In these
Digging Deeper:
How Forensic Engineers Are Working to Uncover Solutions
for Many of Today’s Most Pressing Engineering Challenges
Forensic engineers take on varied challenges ranging from investigative work to involvement in court
proceedings. Dr. Kenneth O’Connell, CEE adjunct professor and president of O’Connell & Lawrence, Inc., was
hired to investigate the failure of a drinking water reservoir in Florida. Here he is seen inspecting the failure
of the soil cement facing of the reservoir.

9
cases, we are looking for what happened, why
it happened, what went wrong and, some-
times, who is responsible for the mistakes.”
Recognizing this, O’Connell & Lawrence
employs architects, civil surveyors, construc-
tion professionals, project managers, and other
area experts who are well-positioned to ana-
lyze both in-progress projects at risk of failure
and completed projects in which a failure has
occurred. Even more, their findings directly
benefit public safety by serving to ensure that
past mistakes are never repeated.
“Following some of the larger cases involv-
ing failures there have been changes made to
codes to improve public safety,” said Donald
Vannoy, CEE Professor Emeritus, and prin-
cipal of Trident Engineering Associates, Inc.
A forensic engineering business based in
Annapolis, Md., Trident boasts a team of
engineers across nearly all disciplines, includ-
ing civil and environmental engineering,
mechanical engineering, aerospace engineer-
ing, and fire protection engineering.
Along with the company’s forensic,
accounting and business valuation experts,
all of Trident’s engineers support subrogation
and litigation activities, Vannoy said.
“Studying the cases of failures can be
valuable to the education process,” he said.
“These instances of failure and non-perfor-
mance provide information that can make a
positive impact on human life.”
Although experts from all disciplines
of engineering have worked in forensic
engineering, from the perspective of a civil
engineer, there are specific characteristics that
define a project failure, Vannoy said.
“Failure is an unacceptable difference
between expected and observed performance,”
he said. “It includes total collapse, as well as
serviceability problems such as distress, exces-
sive deformations, and premature deterioration
of materials. Not all failures are news-making
catastrophic failures. In fact, most investiga-
tions deal with in-service problems such as
deteriorated parking decks, bulging exterior
walls, and cracked concrete walls.”
For many forensic engineers, the respon-
sibilities associated with identifying a project
failure are twofold. First, the engineer must
analyze what went wrong such that the
appropriate corrective – or even litigious –
measures are taken. Second, the engineer
has an inherent responsibility to help clients
avoid such mistakes down the road.
“If forensic engineering is looking at fail-
ures, what then can you learn from those
instances?” O’Connell asked. “I think that’s
such an important step in engineering – to
take the time to identify what we are learning
when things don’t go right. There are a lot of
opportunities when something doesn’t go the
right way with materials, contracts, or how
someone approaches a project. I think sophis-
ticated project owners and the good engineers
and contractors learn from their mistakes and
improve their craft because of them.”
Although so much of the work done at
O’Connell & Lawrence involves investigat-
ing and analyzing project failures, the thing
O’Connell loves most about his job might
not coincide with what is best for business.
“My favorite aspect of what we do is what
we call ‘claims avoidance,’” he said. “We train
both owners and contractors involved in
construction on how to avoid litigation. That’s
where the lessons learned really come into
play… when we conduct seminars and train-
ing sessions and basically say, ‘Here’s how you
can do things to prevent having to hire us.’”
In this and many other ways, a forensic
engineer often takes on an educator role,
O’Connell noted.
“One of the responsibilities of a forensic
engineer – especially when you become
involved with a court proceeding – is to be
instructive,” O’Connell said. “It is your job
to convey what happened, and that some-
times means explaining complicated tech-
nical or contractual issues or construction
processes to non-technical people like law-
yers, judges, juries, or arbitration panels. Your
responsibility is, ultimately, to be impartial
and to apply the engineering knowledge,
survey knowledge, or construction materials
knowledge you have to determine exactly
what went wrong and who’s responsible.”
Doing so often presents a communication
challenge, but O’Connell and his colleagues
employ a variety of useful methods to con-
vey their findings ranging from PowerPoint
presentations and formalized reports to
animated timelines and the construction of
scale models.
Nevertheless, for both O’Connell and
Vannoy, their work as forensic engineers has
Rendering of the south view of the Paul S. Sarbanes
Silver Spring Transit Center.
Photo Credit: Montgomery County Government
In 2014, Kenneth O’Connell and Donald Vannoy were
appointed to an independent advisory committee on the
Silver Spring Transit Center, based in Silver Spring, Md. The
experience provided them with opportunities to hone their
investigational skills, handle media inquiries, and give back
to their home state through their service.

10
helped them develop the skills needed to
serve as educators for the Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, and
vice versa.
“In forensic engineering, often we’re
faced with the task of explaining the tech-
nical elements of an engineering project
to people who don’t do what we do every
day,” O’Connell said. “Sometimes, trying
to explain a very complicated problem to
an audience that doesn’t have that technical
background can be a big challenge – but,
that’s also what makes life as a forensic engi-
neer very interesting.”
In the classroom, both Vannoy and
O’Connell have provided countless students
with a first look at life as a forensic engineer
– a career route many still consider nontradi-
tional, despite its growing popularity.
Beginning in the 1990s, Vannoy taught
a CEE graduate-level course in forensic
engineering, which covered the application
of the art and science of engineering in the
jurisprudence system. The course addressed
topics such as the investigation of the physi-
cal causes of accidents and other sources of
claims and litigation, preparation of engi-
neering reports, testimony at hearings and
trials in administrative or judicial proceed-
ings, and the rendition of advisory opinions
to assist the resolution of disputes affecting
life and property.
Once a student who first learned about
forensic engineering as an undergraduate
in Vannoy’s class, O’Connell now teaches
both graduate and undergraduate courses in
scheduling.
And, while courses in forensic engineering
serve to pique student interest in the field,
there are a number of reasons the field con-
tinues to grow, O’Connell said.
“In some ways, the reasons [for the growth
of forensic engineering] are unfortunate
because they represent an outgrowth of liti-
giousness in our society and industry,” he
said. “There is unfortunately a lot of litiga-
tion in construction and engineering, and in
industry in general. Also, there is the foren-
sic side of projects in which engineers are
brought in to identify and develop solutions
to problems while the project is in progress.
I think that need will always be there. Dollar
values of projects go up, contracts get more
complicated, the risks get more complicated,
and people are trying to build projects faster
and faster while using more sophisticated
materials. All of this contributes to a need for
forensic engineers.”
As such, both O’Connell & Lawrence and
Trident have established a long list of local,
national and even international projects for
which the firms have provided forensic sup-
port. Collectively, their client list includes
the U.S. Army, Department of Commerce,
Department of Justice, U.S. Postal Service, the
Maryland State Highway Administration and
countless other public and private entities.
In 2014, both O’Connell and Vannoy
were appointed to an independent advi-
sory committee on the Silver Spring Transit
Center (SSTC), based in Silver Spring, Md.
Together with Norman Augustine, retired
chairman and CEO of the Lockheed Martin
Corporation and current member of the
University System of Maryland Board of
Regents, and Algynon Collymore, construc-
tion supervisor for DC Water, O’Connell and
Vannoy helped issue a report on the project’s
shortcomings and potential solutions. The
experience provided them with opportunities
to hone their investigational skills, handle
media inquiries, and give back to their home
state through their service.
“We take pride in the work we do for
Maryland,” O’Connell said. “That’s home to
us, and we’re pretty proud of our ability to
help our own state.”
As in the case with the SSTC project,
forensic engineers often find themselves
taking on different roles. After all, it is not
unusual for reporters to field questions to
forensic engineers working on high-profile
cases. Even more, it is important for forensic
engineers to develop the skills needed to
properly document any investigational work
or evidence collected.
“One of the challenges of forensic engi-
neering is the process of documenting
the case by photographs, video and other
means,” Vannoy said. “Other challenges
include collecting and preserving evidence,
analyzing the event, and determining what
were the major contributing factors in the
collapse or non-performance of the item
under investigation.”
“It’s all about having that desire to do
investigation work,” O’Connell said. “There
are certain people who have a knack for
that, or a real desire to do investigations, and
that is important because some of it can be
tedious. A lot of engineers just want to be out
on a construction project building things, and
the investigation work doesn’t interest them
so much. But, for those of us drawn to foren-
sic engineering, it’s all about finding solutions
to the puzzles we encounter.”
And, in doing so, forensic engineers can
help resolve project failures or shortcomings,
which in turn benefits whole communities,
O’Connell said.
“Whenever we can apply what we’ve
learned and have a client benefit from that
and not end up in a failure situation – not
end up in court, but instead, fix whatever is
going wrong in a project – that’s my favorite
aspect of this line of work,” he said. “That’s
when people win.”
PhotoCredit:MarylandTransportationAuthority(MDTA)

11
When metropolitan area drivers hear the
word, “traffic,” most often another word
comes to mind: congestion.
According to a study issued earlier
this month by the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), congestion will no
longer be a headache confined to areas
surrounding the country’s largest cities. In
fact, “Beyond Traffic: Trends and Choices”
states that, “short of land use plans that
expressly curtail it, sprawl is likely to
remain a dominant development pattern
and, if we do not act, congestion will be
much more widespread.”
While this trend could spell more head-
aches for everyday commuters, congestion
also poses a major economic problem,
according to Mark Franz, Assistant Director
of Outreach and Technology Transfer for
the National Transportation Center at the
University of Maryland (NTC@Maryland).
In response to the challenges associ-
ated with traffic congestion, a UMD
research team led by NTC@Maryland
Director and Associate Professor of Civil
and Environmental Engineering Lei Zhang
was awarded in August 2015 a competitive
grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
(DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Energy (ARPA-E) to develop technol-
ogy to deliver personalized, real-time travel
information to users and incentivize energy-
efficient travel. The funding includes $3.78
million from DOE and $700,000 in cash
cost-sharing from various public and private
sector partners.
The UMD research team will conduct
behavioral studies to predict travelers’
responses and identify incentives to encour-
age drivers to alter routes, departure times,
and driving styles, or take mass transit or
ride-sharing services.
Their efforts - as well as those of
the University of Maryland’s Center for
Advanced Transportation Technology
(CATT) Laboratory - serve to mitigate
traffic congestion and its associated costs.
“What people might not realize as they’re
sitting in traffic is the number of commer-
cial vehicles also impacted by congestion
and jams,” Franz said. “When you’re think-
ing in terms of a passenger vehicle versus a
commercial freight vehicle, the cost for the
freight vehicle sitting in traffic is signifi-
cantly higher. To start, the person driving
that vehicle is working on the clock. Second,
the material he or she is transporting is
being delayed, which means final delivery
could be impacted. As such, there’s a cost
associated not only with the person in the
vehicle, but also the goods that are being
transported by that vehicle.”
Although freight movement is multimod-
al, trucking is the primary mode. According
to “Beyond Traffic,” in 2012, trucks moved
13.2 billion tons of freight, compared to sec-
ond-place rail transport, which accounted for
just 2 billion tons of freight the same year.
That is why NTC@Maryland is conduct-
ing research in freight fluidity in an effort
to better understand ways commercial vehi-
cles can efficiently transport goods through
the capital region.
“Not only is it important to know where
congestion occurs and when, but also, how
predictable congestion is,” Zhang said. “We
understand, for instance that, if you’re driv-
ing on the inner loop coming from northern
Virginia through I-270 during peak hours,
you’re likely to hit congestion – so, you can
plan around that. But, if we want to drive
that same route during an off-peak period
and an accident or other incident causes it
to become congested, there’s an added cost
to that. Both passenger vehicles and freight
vehicles are unable to predict or plan for
such events.”
As for minimizing the costs of congestion,
there are a number of strategies both travel-
ers and businesses can adopt, Franz said.
“One option is to implement active traf-
fic management systems, which use real-
time data to adjust or change some of the
demand patterns and traffic flow patterns
on certain roads,” he said.
Some examples of active traffic manage-
ment systems in the metropolitan region
include freeway ramp metering, whereby
red and green lights are used to control
travelers as they enter a freeway; and hard
shoulder running, whereby signs above a
shoulder indicate when passengers can use
the shoulder as a normal lane during peak
travel hours.
“Other ways to minimize congestion
come from the demand management strate-
gies,” Franz said. “Flexible start and end
times allow workers to avoid peak periods of
congestion. Similarly, if more organizations
allow their people to telework, we would
likely see fewer cars on the roads during
peak periods.”
Despite the fact that these strategies offer
potential solutions for increased congestion,
yet another factor is leading to more cars on
the road each day, Franz said.
“The number of people who commute to
work alone is actually on the rise,” he said,
referencing “Beyond Traffic.”
The Real Costs
of Congestion:
CEE Researchers Evaluate Impact of Traffic Jams

12This is the trend despite the fact that
High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and
High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes are
designed largely to encourage carpooling.
Additionally, HOT lanes require solo drivers
unwilling to forfeit use of the extra lane to
pay a fee to drive in the HOT lane without
transporting additional passengers. Although
this money often goes toward construction
and maintenance of roadways or other trans-
portation projects, many of the benefits of
HOT lanes skew to higher-income drivers,
and highly congested travel areas might even
see congestion in the HOT lanes as well.
Washington, D.C., offers the perfect case
study for the drawbacks of HOT lanes,
Franz noted. To start, several counties in the
greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area
consistently rank among the highest-earning
median household income counties in the
U.S. And, the higher-than-average salaries in
the D.C. region likely impact the number
of drivers who are willing to pay a toll to
reduce travel time.
In fact, in the greater D.C. area, so many
drivers may be willing to pay a toll that HOT
lanes may also become congested, despite the
efforts of dynamic tolling, Franz said.
“One potential solution to alleviate con-
gestion in the HOT lanes is to raise the
HOV threshold from HOV2 to HOV3,”
he said. “However, this policy may create
equity issues as it only removes non-paying
restricted lane users. Thus, the decreased
congestion in the HOT lanes may dispro-
portionately benefit higher income earners
– those who can afford to pay the tolls on a
regular basis.”
According to the DOT “Beyond Traffic”
study, for consumers representing the lowest
20 percent of income earners, “transporta-
tion costs account for approximately 32 per-
cent of their after-tax income.”
“And, as our country continues on the
path of increased sprawl – due in part to
the high cost of living in cities – congestion
will likely impact areas thus far immune to
many of the headaches that plague capital-
area commuters,” Franz said. “While public
transportation offers a solution for some, the
DOT study reveals that only a quarter of
jobs in low- and middle-skill industries in
major metropolitan areas are accessible via a
transit ride of under 90 minutes.”
“Not only is it
important to know
where congestion
occurs and when, but
also, how predictable
congestion is.”
- Dr. Lei Zhang,
NTC@Maryland Director

13
studentNEWS: graduate
Xue Awarded NASA Earth and
Space Science Fellowship
Department of Civil
and Environmental
Engineering (CEE)
first-year Ph.D. student
Yuan Xue was recently
awarded a prestigious
three-year NASA Earth
and Space Science
Fellowship (NESSF)
in recognition of her
efforts to develop a
more accurate estimate of the mass of water
in large snowpacks across North America.
Advised by CEE Assistant Professor
Barton Forman, Xue received the fellowship
based on her proposal entitled, “Advancing
Atmospheric and Forest Decoupling in
Passive Microwave Observations over
Snow Covered Land Using the Advanced
Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E)
and the NASA Catchment Land Surface
Model.” Her proposed study addresses two
significant sources of uncertainty - atmo-
spheric and overlying forest effects - in
remotely-sensed passive microwave obser-
vations for use in estimating the mass of
water in large snowpacks.
This mass – known as the Snow Water
Equivalent (SWE) – represents the depth
of water that would theoretically result in
the instance a snowpack melted. The abil-
ity to measure SWE is significant to envi-
ronmental engineers because snowpacks
serve as the primary source of drinking
water for much of the world’s population.
Unfortunately for researchers, atmospheric
and overlying forest effects often confound
efforts to measure SWE from space. As
such, it is essential for researchers to first
decouple the atmospheric and forest-relat-
ed signals from the snow-related signal to
accurately measure SWE.
In efforts to combat this challenge, Xue
is working to integrate different sources of
information - such as an advanced land sur-
face model with the space-borne measure-
ments - to provide a more accurate esti-
mate of SWE across North America. Such
knowledge could be used to help mitigate
the effects of droughts and floods, as well
as better enable water resource managers
to preserve and protect this vital natural
water supply.
Sun Awarded AREMA Scholarship
Third-year Ph.D.
student Yanshuo
Sun was named the
2015 recipient of the
American Railway
Engineering and
Maintenance-of-
Way Association’s
(AREMA) Electric
Energy Utilization
Scholarship.
A 2014 recipient of an AREMA Rail Transit
Scholarship, Sun was recognized for his work
on the project, “Efficiency and Reliability
in Freight Transportation Systems,” funded
by the National Transportation Center at
Maryland. His research experience includes
estimating transit riders’ route choice behav-
Yuan Xue
Yanshuo Sun
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named a
University of Maryland team of civil engineering and landscape
architecture researchers first-place winners of the third-annual EPA
Campus RainWorks Challenge, Demonstration Project category.
Created to engage university students in reinventing water infra-
structure, the RainWorks Challenge recognizes students who show
how managing stormwater at its source can benefit the campus
community and environment.
Second-year CEE graduate student Jaison Renkenberger and
CEE Ph.D. candidate Yan Wang joined Landscape Architecture stu-
dents Jonathan Gemmell, Penny Jacobs, Harris Trobman, and Nick
Yoder on a mission to redesign a prominent site next to UMD’s
Memorial Chapel. The group was advised by Dr. Victoria Chase,
an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Science and
Landscape Architecture (PSLA).
The research team – known as UMD Team D9 – centered their
project on a 7.1-acre basin located directly south of Memorial Chapel.
The team members proposed a system to gather runoff from sur-
rounding impervious surfaces and collection points and treat the
water in multiple stages before returning any treated overflow back
into the storm system located at the low end of the site. The team’s
collection system involves replacing the traditional lawn with a series
of meadow ecologies while capturing and treating stormwater from
two adjacent parking lots and surrounding rooftops through a series
of bioretention terraces, bioswales, and rain gardens.
“Compacted and fertilized lawn is arguably just as bad as a park-
ing lot. Getting rid of lawn is a good thing,” Renkenberger said,
noting that the landscape architecture students chose regionally
CEE, Landscape Architecture
Researchers Awarded 1st Place in
EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge

14
studentNEWS: graduate
ior, evaluating transit travel time reliabilities,
developing algorithms for optimizing ride-
share services and designing phased devel-
opment plans for all rail transit lines.
LSAMP Fellowship Helps CEE
Student Pursue Dream Career in
Structural Engineering
Ryan McCullough’s
(B.S., ’15) first con-
nection to civil engi-
neering traces back
to his grandfather,
who worked for Clark
Construction. Today,
the CEE graduate
student is working
toward his own long-
time goal of estab-
lishing a career in structural engineering, with
support from the Louis Stokes Alliances for
Minority Participation (LSAMP) Bridge to the
Doctorate Fellowship.
“Throughout my undergraduate career, the
study of structures always interested me the
most,” McCullough said. “Looking at the inter-
action of smaller components as they relate
to a greater system has always reminded me
of a puzzle.”
McCullough is particularly interested in
learning more about the effects of differ-
ent loading cases on a structure, and the
measurable physical responses of structures’
components.
A Clark School Ambassador and an active
member of the University of Maryland chap-
ter of the American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE), McCullough also served as a uni-
versity resident assistant for three years as
an undergraduate. Today, he is developing
hands-on skills as a second-year intern with
Network Building + Consulting (NB+C), a
company that specializes in telecommunica-
tion network design and engineering.
Established to encourage and support
graduate student participation in the STEM
fields, the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate
Fellowship provides $30,000 per school year
for two years to cover education costs and
some living costs. Throughout the fellowship
program, McCullough will be paired with
a professor and will take part in a number
of events and meetings with fellow award
recipients.
“The Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship
will help me grow as a young professional in
the engineering field,” McCullough said. “The
opportunity to attend national and profes-
sional conferences will assist me in network-
ing. Academically, the fellowship will give me
the opportunity to do research in the field of
structural engineering, which may influence
my professional and academic future.”
Prior to entering the University of
Maryland as an undergraduate in 2010,
McCullough enjoyed his first learning
experiences in engineering as a student
at the Western School of Technology and
Environmental Science in Baltimore, Md.
Throughout his high school years, he studied
plumbing and gas fitting and learned about a
variety of aspects of civil engineering.
Ryan McCullough
native plants that are hardy and low-
maintenance.
The team also redesigned the site’s
stormwater system by disconnecting exist-
ing storm pipes and directing stormwater
flow from two adjacent parking lots into
a low-impact development treatment
drain into the meadows. This design
would treat 55 percent of a five-year
storm event and 100 percent of a one-year
storm event, Team D9 noted.
“These storm events are, statistically, the most frequent,”
Renkenberger said. “Reducing impervious area, increasing land-
holding capacity, and increasing infiltration for these events reduces
erosion from peak flows and pollutant transport. We are in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed, so intercepting these volumes trickles
benefits downstream and eventually to the Bay itself.”
In addition to offering a practical solution for stormwater man-
agement, the proposed project would also enhance aesthetics of the
site, which is often used for commencement, academic functions,
and weddings.
“I think that beautiful designs like this go a long way to show the
public that sustainability is a thing, and that it can be really cool,”
Renkenberger said. “In addition to aesthetics, this design is function-
al from a sustainability point of view as well as recreational. Fishing
from clean streams, kayaking through restored wetlands and farm-
ing Blue Crab are all supported by sustainability. If enjoying the
outdoors isn’t your thing then maybe eating fresher and cheaper bay
food is. There is a very strong economic
argument for sustainability.”
By joining together area experts from
civil engineering, landscape architecture,
environmental science and technology,
and facilities management, Team D9 also
demonstrated the value and importance
of cross-disciplinary research. Additional
advisers to the team included Mr.
Dennis Nola (PSLA), Dr. Lea Johnson,
Dr. Peter May (Environmental Science
and Technology), Dr. David Myers (College of Agriculture and
Natural Resources), and Karen Petroff, UMD Facilities Management
Assistant Director, Arboretum and Horticultural Services.
“Every interdisciplinary project I [have worked] on further shows
the importance of collaboration to meet environmental challenges,”
Renkenberger said. “Everything is so interconnected and complex.
To do things right and get the most benefit, we need to understand
that watersheds are composed of both physical and social elements.
Both are critical to sustainability.”
The team, which presented a site plan, renderings, and main-
tenance schedule for implementation of their design, was formally
recognized by the EPA during an Earth Day awards ceremony at the
Chapel site on April 22. The students of Team D9 will split $2,000
in prize money; faculty from the PSLA will also receive money to go
towards furthering green infrastructure research.

15
studentNEWS: undergraduate
Three students from the University of Maryland Engineers
Without Borders (EWB-UMD) Chapter teamed up with two
students from UMD’s Public Health Without Borders (PHWB-
UMD) to travel to Compone, Peru to assess how years of the
chapters’ involvement in the region has made a difference and to
look ahead to new initiatives.
In the seven years since EWB-UMD started its Peru program,
the team has worked on supplying clean water to the community.
Beginning 2013, PHWB has made the trek to the region to educate
residents on general health and safety practices.
Following the early successes of EWB-UMD and PHWB-UMD’s
clean water initiatives, both teams have shifted the Peru program
focus from engineering solutions for water quality to resolving the
town’s issues with traffic accidents. Additionally, both teams are
looking to develop alternatives for community members who fre-
quently walk along high-speed roadways to take their livestock to
and from pasture.
By building a bridge to cross waterways that typically impede
community members’ transport of livestock, engineers could con-
nect two dirt paths, enabling residents to use the paths instead of the
main roadways, EWB-UMD noted. This could make a world of dif-
ference in terms of pedestrian safety and traffic mitigation.
During the January 2015 assessment trip, EWB-UMD devel-
oped ideas for a project to address this need, following suggestions
from leaders and members of the community. While EWB-UMD
worked to collect information on the materials and space needed
for the bridge, PHWB-UMD held workshops on improving road
safety practices.
After determining the bridge’s exact specifications and materials
and the appropriate construction process, EWB-UMD will continue
working to construct the bridge and will support PHWB-UMD’s
efforts to educate community members on road safety and general
health practices.
Engineers Without Borders
Returns to Peru
CEE undergraduate Alana Carmel was
named to the American Society of Civil
Engineers’ (ASCE) New Faces of Civil
Engineering – College Edition.
In addition to being an active member of
ASCE, Carmel is also a procurement officer
for the University of Maryland’s Concrete
Canoe team, a former field work and
project management intern with Cianbro
Corporation, a volunteer with Friendship
Circle International, and past Philanthropy
and Community Service chair for Alpha
Epsilon Phi.
“ASCE has become my support system
for both my studies and [my] friendships at
the university,” Carmel told ASCE. “I have
learned to value the reciprocal relation-
ship I have with fellow society members.
From giving or receiving homework help,
to advice about career paths, I can always
count on my peers to lead me in the right
direction.”
Carmel told ASCE her interest in civil
engineering is growing.
“As a child, I surpassed the normal by
building towers up to the high heights of my
basement ceiling,” she said. “In the future I
want to build to higher heights [and] even-
tually lead a team of engineers building the
most efficient highway, the longest bridge,
or the tallest building to amaze the world.”
Carmel Named among ASCE’s
New Faces of Civil Engineering – College Edition
student spotlight

16
facultyNEWS
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
and the A. James Clark School of Engineering welcomed two new
faculty members, Assistant Professor and Pedro E. Wasmer Professor
in Engineering Birthe Kjellerup and Lecturer Natasha Andrade, a
CEE alumna (B.S. ’05, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’12).
Much of Kjellerup’s research focuses on how biofilms relate to
either the external environment, such as in instances of clean-up of
contaminated soil and sediments, or the human environment, such
as in the study of infections and disease. Kjellerup also has expertise
in aerobic and anaerobic degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) and biocorrosion in drinking water and oil distribution
pipelines.
As Lecturer, Andrade teaches various undergraduate courses in
environmental engineering and maintains a heavy focus on research
and online curriculum development. Her recent projects have
focused on environmental remediation of sediments and soils, and
the production of stabilized biosolids, with a focus on their impact
on environmental pollution.
Davis Named EWRI Fellow
Department of Civil
and Environmental
Engineering (CEE)
Professor Allen Davis
was named a Fellow
of the Environmental
and Water Resources
Institute (EWRI) of the
American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Recently named
the inaugural editor of the EWRI Journal of
Sustainable Water in the Built Environment,
Davis was bestowed Fellow status in recogni-
tion of his contributions to the advancement of
water resources and environmental engineer-
ing, and his dedication to mentoring students.
“It is an honor to be recognized by my
peers as a leader in water resources and envi-
ronmental engineering, and to join the other
Fellows, who I greatly respect,” Davis said.
To be eligible for advancement to the grade
of Fellow, EWRI members must have been a
member for 10 or more years and have con-
tributed to the advancement of education
and understanding of engineering and science
related to the EWRI mission.
Birthe Kjellerup Allen Davis
Natasha Andrade
Brubaker, ENCE200 Take on Campus Creek Stormwater Mapping Project with Support from a CEE Alum
Associate Professor Kaye Brubaker teamed up with CEE alumnus
and founder of Mapistry Ryan Janoch (M.S., ’08) to provide a
unique opportunity for the 57 students enrolled in ENCE200, “Civil
Engineering Computation” in spring 2015.
In support of the University of Maryland (UMD) Campus
Creek restoration initiative, students took part in a project called
“Collaborative On-Line Mapping Using Mapistry,” through which they
used Mapistry’s stormwater mapping software with location-enabled
phones and tablets to map the right and left banks of Campus Creek,
between where the creek flows under University Boulevard and
where it enters Paint Branch.
In addition to geolocating the banks of the stream, the students’
mission was to mark locations where they observed ponds, pools,
bridges, tributaries entering Campus Creek, storm drain outfalls,
evidence of erosion, and more. They were also asked to photograph
the stream banks and use Mapistry’s software to create hyperlinks
between points on the shared map and their photos.
“The idea was to get a very detailed pre-restoration understanding
of the location and state of the stream and its banks,” Brubaker said.
“We also wanted to identify locations where water flow is entering
Campus Creek. Such locations might not show up on official maps
and drawings – features like little streams following deer paths, or ero-
sion below storm drain outfalls.”
Janoch and his wife Allie, Mapistry CEO and a UMD computer sci-
ence alumna, generously donated Mapistry’s software to the class in
hopes that students would see how sustainability projects evolve from
the very beginning, the data collection stage.
“Civil engineers occasionally work on public works projects that
might impact them personally, but often times they are working on
projects that do not affect them,” Ryan Janoch said. “By working on a
project on campus, the students get to shape something that impacts
them personally. The information that the students gather will be used
to shape the design and ultimately the outcome of the project, which
is on their own campus.”
Kjellerup, Andrade Join CEE Faculty

17
educationNEWS
June 8-9, 2015, the University of Maryland’s
Project Management Center for Excellence
welcomed nearly 150 project management
professionals for the Baltimore-Washington
region’s only symposium to bring together
academics with project management pro-
fessionals under one roof.
Held at the Stamp Student Union at the
University of Maryland, the event featured
more than 55 esteemed speakers and cov-
ered topics ranging from public-private
partnerships and sustainability, to risk and
big data and agile and IT. Keynote speakers
included Jocelyn Davis, President and CEO
of Nelson Hart; Chip Hastie, Vice President
of Clark Construction Group, LLC; Ed
Hoffman, NASA Chief Knowledge Officer;
Dr. Harold Kerzner of the International
Institute for Learning; and Karen Richey,
Assistant Director for the Applied Research
and Methods Team at the U.S. Government
Accountability Office.
“It is so exciting for us, year after year,
to welcome some of the brightest minds in
project management for the capital region’s
only symposium to bring together project
management professionals and academics,”
said John H. Cable, Director of the Project
Management Center for Excellence. “Building
on the tremendous success of our inaugural
symposium, this year’s event was tailored to
meet the needs of 21st-century project man-
agers of all career levels and sectors.”
“We are proud to think that our Project
Management Center for Excellence is dif-
ferent,” said A. James Clark School of
Engineering Dean and Nariman Farvardin
Professor of Engineering Darryll Pines. “Not
only is it the first in an engineering school to
be accredited by the Project Management
Institute’s Global Accreditation Center, but
our center is uniquely positioned to foster
cross-industry education and the open
exchange of lessons learned in project man-
agement. The Center’s tagline, ‘Academically
Rigorous and Practically Applied,’ illustrates
how our project management program lays
the groundwork for a one-of-a-kind partner-
ship between academe and industry, ben-
efitting the fields of project management
and engineering at large.”
Second Annual Project Management Symposium
Features NASA, U.S. GAO Keynotes
The University of Maryland’s Project Management Center for
Excellence, housed within the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, joined forces with the School of Architecture, Planning
and Preservation to establish an undergraduate minor in construction
management, with the first courses available beginning fall 2015.
Generously funded by the Colvin Family Foundation, the new
minor offers foundational knowledge in sustainable construction and
design through experiential learning and a professionally guided cur-
riculum, forwarding the university’s continued mission to support
student innovation and entrepreneurship. Along with a minor in
construction management, UMD also established an undergraduate
minor in real estate development.
“The kind of responsibility we have as a land grant institution
is reflected in the values of John and Karen Colvin and the Colvin
Institute of Real Estate Development,” said University President
Wallace Loh at the signing of the Letter of Agreement at the School
of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. “We are very fortunate to
celebrate this magnificent gift from the Colvins that will expand this
program to undergraduates.”
The interdisciplinary minors are jointly administered by the
School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and the A. James
Clark School of Engineering. Available to undergraduate students
campus-wide, the minors offer a mix of existing and new coursework
to match and anticipate industry trends.
The Colvin Family Foundation, under the guidance of John and
Karen Colvin, has pledged $1 million to support the initiative. The
university anticipates the new gift will not only support the new
minors, but also seed the study for a future undergraduate major in
Real Estate Development.
UMD Launches Undergraduate Minor in Construction Management

18
alumniNEWS
John L. D’Angelo, Jr. (M.S., CEE ’95) was named vice president for
facilities at Northwestern University, effective Feb. 16, 2015. D’Angelo
brings to the position more than 27 years of experience in capital
improvement management, facility design and construction, facility
and campus master planning, operations and maintenance, and envi-
ronmental and policy development.
Dr. Ryan Hurley (B.S., CEE ’11) has accepted a faculty position in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University,
where he will work in affiliation with the Hopkins Extreme Materials
Institute. Prior to his slated summer 2017 start date, Hurley will com-
plete a two-year postdoctoral appointment with the Computational
Geosciences Group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in
Livermore, Calif.
Dr. M. Dianne Leveridge (M.S., ENPM ’08, Ph.D., CEE ’14) was named
the director of Technical Programs for Academic Affairs for the
Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). After
retiring from Lexmark International Inc., Leveridge served as direc-
tor of Project Lead the Way, a science, technology, engineering and
math (STEM) program affiliated with the University of Kentucky that
focuses on K-12 students.
Dr. Amir Mirmiran (M.S., CEE, ’86, Ph.D., CEE, ’91) was named the
provost and vice president for academic affairs at The University of
Texas at Tyler, effective July 1, 2015. Mirmiran will also hold the UT
Tyler Sam Lindsey Chair in Civil Engineering. Prior to his role at UT
Tyler, Mirmiran served as dean of the College of Engineering and
Computing for Florida International University in Miami. His research
in bridge engineering has led to two U.S. patents and more than 110
journal publications.
Robert H. Morro (M.S., CEE, ’91) was named Vice President for
Facilities Management for Villanova University. Murro arrived at
Villanova in 2002 following 20 years in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps.
The 2015 CEE Alumni
Cup team paid homage
to environmental engi-
neering with their entry
in the annual design
competition. Started in
2012 by the University
of Maryland Alumni
Association, Engineering
Chapter, the Alumni
Cup takes place each
year during National
Engineers Week, a
weeklong celebration
held to increase aware-
ness of the field for the
general public, students,
educators and parents.
CEE alumnus Jonathan Schneider (B.S., ’15) was awarded the
University of Maryland Alumni Association inaugural Carapace
Award. Established to honor a graduating student who has done
great work for the campus community, the Carapace Award also
seeks to foster Terp pride post-graduation.
Schneider had a tremendous impact on the UMD com-
munity throughout his undergraduate career, having served as
president of the University of Maryland American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) Chapter, a peer mentor, and president
of his Living & Learning community. Schneider also helped the
Engineering Alumni Network raise more than $6,500 for student
outreach programming, and helped establish ASCE Maryland’s
first-ever Suit Up & Be Civil networking event.
Schneider Receives Inaugural Carapace Award

19
The Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering’s (CEE) Concrete Canoe and
Steel Bridge teams took the 2015 American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Mid-
Atlantic Regional Competitions by storm,
placing first overall in both team competi-
tions and second in the technical paper
competition.
Held at the Pennsylvania State University’s
Stone Valley Recreation Area, April 10-12,
the competition showcased the University
of Maryland ASCE’s competitive spirit and
incredible attention to detail as both teams
received great praise for their technical pre-
sentations and displays.
In commemoration of the 140th Preakness
Stakes, the Concrete Canoe team’s showcase
was unlike any other – from the artwork on
the canoe itself to the iconic University of
Maryland “M” floral display on which it
was affixed during portions of the competi-
tion. Under the leadership of project man-
agers Phil Izzo (B.S., ’15), Craig Lampmann
(B.S., ’15), and faculty advisor Assistant
Professor Brian Phillips, and with technical
support from Structural Group, the team
celebrated a strong performance in the
races, but even higher marks in the techni-
cal and presentation categories.
The Steel Bridge team also went to great
lengths to make sure no workmanship
details went unnoticed. The team earned
first place in both the construction economy
and structural efficiency categories, which
measure how quickly the team can build
their bridge and how well the bridge can
handle loads, respectively.
Perhaps most impressive of all is how far
both teams have come in such a short period
of time.
2015 marked only the fifth year in which
the University of Maryland had an official
Steel Bridge team, said Ross Jespersen (B.S.,
’15), one of the team’s project managers. Fall
2014 graduate Emily Krizz (B.S., ’14) and
CEE undergraduate Adam Healey served as
the team’s other two project managers this
academic year.
“Winning our region this year has
definitely cemented our presence here on
campus and in the Mid-Atlantic Region,”
Jespersen said. “We’re a strong contender,
and our team is made up of some incredibly
smart students.”
While UMD’s Concrete Canoe team can
be traced to earlier years, the team celebrated
a restart in 2008-09 following a hiatus.
“We aren’t the newest team on campus,
but we have certainly seen the team evolve
quickly in recent years to what it is today,”
said ASCE Maryland President Jonathan
Schneider (B.S., ’15). “We also have a large
contingent of underclassmen, and Concrete
Canoe is certainly a great way for underclass-
men to get involved in student groups and
network with upperclassmen.”
Schneider himself celebrated an impres-
sive win at Pennsylvania State as he took
home second place in the technical paper
and presentation competition, which this
year focused on whether or not the Engineer
of Record “should be held responsible, to
any degree, for injury or death to builders
or bystanders that occurs during the con-
struction of his/her design.” Schneider is no
stranger to the competition, endowed by
Society past president Daniel W. Mead and
established to provide an opportunity for
Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge Teams Take First Place in ASCE Mid-Atlantic Competitions
departmentNEWS
ASCE Maryland Achieves Milestones in 2015

20
alert young civil engineers to further their
professional development and gain national
attention. Schneider took first place in last
year’s competition for his paper and presen-
tation about a civil engineer’s responsibility
in natural disaster planning.
Schneider stressed the fact that there
are many benefits to participation in the
Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge teams that
stretch beyond competitions.
“Both teams offer time for students to
come by after class and, even if some stu-
dents might not realize it, they have a unique
opportunity to apply lessons from class to
the work they do for these teams,” Schneider
said. “These students are learning lab skills
and finding out firsthand how to use cer-
tain tools and manage projects. They’re also
developing invaluable people skills.”
In fact, Steel Bridge team leaders even
encourage as many members as possible to
gain experience with welding, Jespersen said.
This is made possible, in part, by the sup-
port of Steel Bridge sponsor Earlbeck Gases
& Technologies, which offers a class through
which UMD Steel Bridge team members
can get their first taste of welding experience.
“Perhaps more important than the skills
and lessons learned is the fact that both
the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge offer
opportunities for engineering students to
make new friends and develop relationships
with both underclassmen and lower class-
men,” Schneider added.
Both the 2015 Steel Bridge and Concrete
Canoe teams participated in their respective
national competitions in late spring. Steel
Bridge’s competition took the team to the
University of Missouri-Kansas City, May
22-23, while Concrete Canoe’s brought the
team to Clemson University, June 20-22.
departmentNEWS
ASCE Maryland Hosts Inaugural “Suit Up & Be Civil” Event
On Monday, March 2, 2015, nearly 160 civil engineering professionals, students, alumni, and
University of Maryland (UMD) civil engineering faculty gathered under one roof for the
inaugural “Suit Up & Be Civil” event, organized by UMD’s chapter of the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE Maryland).
The near-capacity crowd kicked things off with an opening networking reception fea-
turing a dozen sponsor organizations, many of which currently employ UMD Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) alumni and students. Following the recep-
tion, attendees were served dinner as they heard from ASCE Maryland President Jonathan
Schneider and Event Coordinator Jamie Richardson, as well as representatives of Archer
Western, Clark Construction, Forrester Construction Company, O’Connell & Lawrence, Inc.,
and Whiting-Turner.
Keynote speaker, David S. Thaler, President of DS Thaler & Associates, Inc., then
enthralled the crowd with a presentation on what he refers to as “Sprawlburbia” in America.
“The current model of suburban development [in America] is unsustainable,” Thaler
cautioned. “Suburbia is no accident, but it is the result of manifest public policy embodied
in our zoning codes, our road codes, and our other regulations and laws.”
Thaler, a Fellow in both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society
of Professional Engineers, opened his presentation by sharing his experiences traveling up
and down I-95 along the East Coast, noting that much of the development he saw is com-
mon across the country, and can be described as “sprawling” and “car-dominated.”
“What, after all, is so wrong with sprawl?” he asked, revisiting a question posed during
one of his recent lectures. For many outside the realm of engineering, sprawl – a process
whereby the spread of development across a landscape outpaces population growth –
would seem to carry a solution for traffic congestion and gridlock. Instead, Thaler stated,
“The most damning case against sprawl is that it actually creates traffic.
“It’s almost a miracle that gridlock can be created from such low-density zoning and
development,” he continued. “It’s because, the further things are spread out from each
other, the more each of us must drive to get back and forth. And, so, the number of
vehicle miles driven per year grows far beyond our ability to build new roads. Anyone who
thinks that transportation in the next 25 years will be the same as it was in the past 25
years is dreaming.”
The increase in traffic will create more congestion and gridlock, thereby forcing area
residents to drastically alter the way they live – requiring civil engineers to rethink the
model of development, Thaler said.
“We aren’t stuck in a traffic jam – we are the traffic jam,” he said. “New roads are justi-
fied to relieve congestion; however, you cannot spend your way out of traffic problems.
New roads actually create congestion. Sooner or later, if the diet of suburban develop-
ment doesn’t change, the roads will clog up again.”
Enter, today’s budding engineers.
“Communities should be designed at least as thoughtfully for humans as they are for
cars,” Thaler said. “We need public policies that, at least, permit narrower roads, mixed
uses, parallel parking, and communities worth caring about. And it’s the young members
of the civil engineering profession who I believe should lead the way.”

21
departmentNEWS
In spring 2015, the Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
kicked off its Infrastructure Engineering
Laboratories renovation initiative.
The initiative will support efforts to equip
CEE students with the resources needed to
develop comprehensive understanding of the
engineering science behind the systems and
structures on which society relies.
As part of the renovation initiative, the
department will redesign its physical and
virtual facilities to provide students greater
exposure to modern laboratory- and field-
based infrastructure engineering techniques.
Students will develop better hands-on
understanding of the behaviors of steel, tim-
ber, concrete, asphalt, soil composites, and
other materials employed in infrastructure
design. Additionally, students will master
Quality Assurance testing techniques for
infrastructure construction and learning
cutting-edge nondestructive evaluation
approaches for monitoring the structural
health of bridges, buildings, and other criti-
cal infrastructure assets.
The renovation initiative marks a new era
for the department, which has seen student
enrollment double in the past decade.
“Generations of civil and environmental
engineering students to come will benefit
from both hands-on and virtual learn-
ing opportunities made possible by the
University of Maryland Infrastructure
Engineering Laboratories renovation initia-
tive,” said Darryll J. Pines, Clark School
Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of
CEE Launches Infrastructure Engineering
Laboratories Renovation Initiative

22
departmentNEWS
Engineering. “With improved access to cut-
ting-edge equipment and engineering soft-
ware, our civil and environmental engineer-
ing students will develop the skills needed to
design novel solutions to critical engineering
challenges impacting society.”
“Direct interaction with the materials,
testing techniques, and instrumentation used
in the design, construction, and performance
monitoring of infrastructure facilities is a
critical component of our civil engineering
curriculum,” said Charles W. Schwartz, CEE
Professor and Chair. “Laboratory and field
work complement and strengthen the engi-
neering science concepts that our students
learn in their design and analysis courses.
The modernized and greatly enhanced
facilities in our new Whiting-Turner
Infrastructure Engineering Laboratories will
help position our graduates as leaders in the
engineering of the buildings we inhabit, the
roads and bridges on which we drive, the
airports via which we travel, and the ports
through which our goods are shipped. These
all contribute to a better quality of life for all
of society.”
The renovated and enhanced
Infrastructure Engineering Laboratories will
be the home to ENCE 300 Fundamentals of
Engineering Materials, a required course for
all CEE undergraduates, and to ENCE 444
Experimental Methods in Geotechnical and
Structural Engineering, a required course for
all CEE undergraduates in the Infrastructure
track. The faculty for these courses – Drs.
Ahmet Aydilek, Dimitrios Goulias, Sherif
Aggour, Yunfeng Zhang, and Brian Phillips
– played a major role in the development of
the conceptual design for the renovation and
enhancement of the laboratories.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company has committed $1.5
million in support of the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering Infrastructure Laboratories renovation initiative.
Whiting-Turner’s donation will span five years and will help bring
to life the department’s vision for new, state-of-the-art facilities and
laboratory equipment.
“We are proud to partner with the University of Maryland and
the Clark School in support of the Infrastructure Engineering
Laboratories renovation initiative,” said Timothy J. Regan, President
and CEO of Whiting-Turner and a University of Maryland civil
engineering alumnus (B.S., ’77). “We believe our support will help
further the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s
mission to prepare graduates to be proficient in both analysis and
synthesis aspects of civil engineering design and practice.”
Whiting-Turner Contributes $1.5 Million to Renovation Initiative

Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 10
College Park, MD
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
1173 Glenn L. Martin Hall, Building #088
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

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